Too Much Free Time
by MissWritingMachine
Summary: Left to his own devices in Resembool, Edward manages to stir up quite a bit of trouble. Can he manage to stay out of it long enough to win over the girl? Post-Brotherhood. EdWin.
1. Introduction

**1. Introduction**

In the weeks he had been back in Resembool, Edward Elric had been up to… well, he hadn't been up to much of anything.

_This'll be great,_ he had thought initially. _If anyone in the world deserves a vacation, it's me._

And for a little while, it _had_ been great. No one to fight against and no corrupt regimes to undermine. But after the initial joy of his and Al's homecoming had subsided, Ed found himself thinking wistfully about the good old days, when he could pick fights with anyone who looked at him wrong in the name of the 'justice'.

Al was no help either. His body was still quite weak from being unoccupied for so long, and so he spent most of his time sitting around reading books and, in Edward's opinion, being no fun at all.

Ed was currently returning from a too-quiet walk around the countryside of Resembool after being banished from the house by Pinako that morning.

"You're being a nuisance, pipsqueak," she had said. "Get out so we can get some real work done."

After engaging in a quick bickering match challenging her comment about his height (which unfortunately was the most interesting part of the day so far) Ed found himself moseying around the dirt roads. While rediscovering the landscapes of his childhood was nostalgic and all that, Ed could only pass by the same fences and fields and cows for so long until he went absolutely insane. He needed some excitement in his life!

That's why, upon his return to the Rockbell household, Ed made the decision to see what Winry was doing in her workshop.

"Yo!" he said in his cocky way upon entering, like Winry should feel graced by his presence. "I'm bored. I forgot how mind-numbingly dull this town could be."

Winry didn't even look up from the automail arm she was fine-tuning when Ed said this, but she did mumble something in return.

"What was that?"

Winry mumbled again, still nearly unintelligibly, but Ed thought it sounded suspiciously like, "Go bother someone else for a change."

Ed bit his lip, realizing that Winry was not playing along. He realized would just have to _make _her entertain him. More boldly than he probably should have, Ed strode up to Winry's workbench and snatched up the piece she was working on from right under her nose.

"Hey!" Winry said surprised, looking up at Ed for the first time since he'd entered. "What'd you do that for? Give that back!"

"No." Edward held the automail arm high above his head. He liked finally being taller than Winry. "I said I'm bored. Entertain me."

Ignoring his statement, Winry tried to appeal to him reasonably. "You know someone really needs that arm, Ed," but he was already striding out the door before she could get the first couple of words out.

"You can't do work if you can't find what you're working on!" he said in a sing-songy voice.

"Come back!" Winry fumed.

"Argh!" Ed shouted, as Winry, in a wild attempt to retrieve the automail, jumped on his back.

Chaos and confusion ensued. Den jumped and yapped at their heels, wanting to play too. They scrambled over the arm like five year olds would scramble over a toy, and they were pretty evenly matched until Winry brought out her weapon of choice – her wrench.

With a bump on his head, a guilty look on his face, and a lecture from Winry coming his way, Ed was no better off than before, except that he had been mildly entertained for a while. _And Winry had touched him_, the adolescent-minded part of his brain said, but Ed pushed this thought to the recesses as he blushed.

"Got that, Ed?" Winry finished.

"Huh?"

"You are so useless!" Winry raged. "I don't know why the military kept you around for as long as they did!"

"It's because of my irresistible charm," Ed said, cocking a lopsided smile.

Winry rolled her eyes. "Just do everything on this list," she said, handing him a piece of paper.

"But Winry that's so much work!" Ed whined.

"Maybe," Winry said, touching his shoulder suggestively, "if you're still bored when you get back, I can help with that problem."

Then she left, leaving Edward alone, clutching the list tightly, his eyes wide open.

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_A/N: Reviews make me feel happy inside! This will probably be a plot-centric 100 Theme thing with each drabble being 750-1000 words long. Anyways, thanks for reading!_

_Elizabeth  
_


	2. Hero

**2. Hero**

Armed with only a list and Winry's coin purse, Edward was promptly kicked out of the house, into the harsh weather (harsh meaning pleasantly warm), to venture into town. Ed didn't particularly enjoy doing errands, because going into town usually meant stares.

He could get over if it if the townspeople were staring at his automail leg. No, the people in town were used to seeing automail, because the Rockbell's automail shop was the best for miles and it drew all sorts of people into town. The real reason people stared at him was because in Resembool, just like in Central and East City and everywhere else the Fullmetal Alchemist tread, he tended to cause a bit of trouble. But it was especially bad in Resembool, because news _always_ got back to Winry or Pinako and they _always_ gave him an earful for it.

Ed straightened his back. He _wasn't_ going to cause trouble today. In fact, he resolved that while he was in town, he would go out of his way to do someone a favor. He was just a good Samaritan like that.

When he got to the main drag, he went straight to work, going quickly from store to store. A few things at the grocer's for dinner, a couple of things from the hardware store. Ed wanted to help people, but he also wanted to get back to the house. Winry had promised to entertain him, and he didn't know exactly what that meant, but he didn't want to miss it. He blushed a bit when he remembered how she had touched his arm. So casually. It _must _have meant something... more.

He tried his best to be a responsible citizen while doing completing his shopping. The basics: he helped an elderly woman carry her bags an assisted a shopkeeper with a particularly heavy piece of inventory, and maybe it was that he was such a stand-up guy, but he wasn't satisfied with these menial tasks. He _really_ wanted to help someone. Something people would talk about.

And then, the perfect opportunity struck. Ed had been just about to give up playing hero and walk back to the Rockbell home with the things he bought and the small satisfactions he had gained from his few good deeds. He was walking past the general store on his way out of town when two boys, in their early teens by the looks of it, ran out with their arms full.

"Hey you two!" the shopkeeper yelled after them. "Get back here, or else! Bring that stuff back!"

_Perfect_, Ed thought. Shoplifters. Putting aside the fact that it was sort of wrong that Ed was happy about running into thieves, he was really thinking about how the town would be so _incredibly_ grateful to him for catching menaces to society like these two clearly were. With a little self-satisfied grin on his face, Ed stepped out into the road to intercept the little rats.

The two fell both tumbled to the ground in their attempt to slow themselves before running into Ed. The younger of the two, whom Ed realized upon a second glance was only around eleven, ripped the knee in his trousers, but that didn't seem to phase either of them for long.

"Sorry, mister," the older one, who looked about thirteen, said as they both scrambled back on to their feet. "We weren't lookin'." Then, the pair attempted back on their course, but Ed stopped them, grabbing them both by the scruff of their neck.

"Is that the way you talk to a former military officer?" he scolded. "For God's sake, show some respect! And what do you think you're doing, stealing from that man's shop? You know, you might take his example and try and make an _honest_ living instead of committing such a cowardly crime!" On and on, Ed railed at the two boys, his verbal attacks getting sharper as he went on. And he was feeling pretty good about himself too. He really _was_ the hero of the people.

Had he really looked at the boys, he would've seen the younger one reduced to confused tears and the older one stoutly sticking his lip out in attempt to staunch tears from flowing out his own eyes. But Ed just kept going, "You know, in some places, they would cut off your hands for just stealing an apple. Do you want me to do that to you? You might really learn a lesson that way," he snarled. Just give 'em a good scare, Ed thought. That'll teach them not to steal.

Then, Edward sensed someone behind him. There was a shadow to prove it. He turned around, saw it was the shopkeeper (a large, muscular man) and said, "I caught these little thieves for you. No need to thank me."

"Did I hear you threaten to cut off my sons' hands?" the shopkeeper growled. "I ought to sew your mouth shut for a comment like that." With the man's stature and demeanor being what it was, Ed didn't doubt that _he_ was telling the truth.

"W-what?" Ed stuttered. "Your sons? But I was doing you a f_avor_! You were yelling at them to bring your stuff back!" he yelped.

"My disciplining my sons is my own damn business. Now if you don't get out of my sight, I'll teach _you_ a lesson!"

If it came down to hand to hand combat, Ed was sure he could outmaneuver the man, but frankly he was too terrified to attempt it. He made sure all of his things were together and high-tailed it out of town while the shopkeeper yelled, "I'm sure you've figured this one out, but you're never welcome in my shop _ever_!"

Winry was gonna kill him if she ever found out.

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_A/N: All of your comments and alerts were lovely! I promise to have the next chapter up by April 2nd! Please review!_

_Elizabeth  
_


	3. Starvation

**3. Starvation**

Ed crept back into the Rockbell house as quietly as he could. There was really no good reason he did this. There was no way that Winry or Pinako could know about what happened in the marketplace so soon. If Ed were lucky, they probably wouldn't _ever _find out. But somehow, walking sneakily helped Edward appease his guilty conscience.

"Hey there, Ed! Whatcha doing? Did you have a good trip into town?"

Edward jumped sky-high out of surprise. "Oh, hey, Al," he replied sheepishly. He had been scared of his own brother. And Alphonse couldn't hurt a fly, especially in his current physical condition. "Yeah, it was fine, great actually."

Al looked skeptical, but didn't question his brother.

"So," Ed said, trying to sound casual, though failing miserably at it, "where's Winry?"

"You didn't see her?" Al asks. "She said she forgot to put some things on the list she gave you, so she ran into town herself to get them.

Ed froze as still as a statue upon hearing this. He made such a scene…. There was no _way _that Winry wouldn't hear about it. And she was so damn social, too. She stopped and spoke to everybody! It was pretty much guaranteed that _someone _would mention his mishap earlier.

He might as well just accept it now – he was a dead man. He flopped down onto the couch next to Alphonse.

"Is something wrong, brother?" Al asked. Ed had thrown his face into his hands and was shaking his head back and forth. Al knew his brother was a pretty dramatic person, but this action seemed like a bit much. Although he didn't know the reason's for his brother's despair. For all Al knew, Ed could have accidentally killed somebody on the way back to town.

Alphonse wasn't too worried though. He knew that Ed was dramatic and hotheaded, but he also knew that his brother was incapable of keeping anything inside for very long. If Ed had a guilty conscience, Al knew he would be hearing about it sooner or later.

Edward continued to fidget. After a while of sitting on the couch, he got up and paced around the coffee table. He rearranged the furniture in the living area, but when he made a move for the kitchen, Pinako put a stop to him, saying, "Settle down, pipsqueak, you're making us all dizzy."

Ed took to the couch again, but before he could start restlessly leafing through a coffee table book, Winry walked through the door.

"Welcome home," Al said cheerily. "Did you get everything you needed in town?"

"Yeah, if Ed got what he was supposed to," Winry smiled.

"O-of course," he stuttered, handing her the bags he had collected in town.

"Thank you, Edward," she said graciously. Almost forcibly so. "I really appreciate it."

"Y-you're not mad at me?" he asked. He had really dodged a bullet there, he thought as he breathed a huge sigh of relief.

"Of course I'm not mad, Ed. _Why_ would I be mad?" Winry smiled, although it was a tight-lipped smile. Ed didn't notice anything truly amiss.

"No reason," he mumbled.

"Well, if you're finished being silly, I'm going to start on dinner," she replied, and she stepped into the kitchen.

Finally, Ed could relax. All that unnecessary worrying had worn him out, and he decided that the appropriate celebration for getting off the hook would be to take a nap on the couch.

Al rolled his eyes. Even though Ed wasn't sleeping for the both of them anymore, he still took an extraordinary amount of naps.

Ed slept for a good two hours and was awoken by Winry yelling at him and Al to come into the kitchen for dinner. He could smell the wondrous scent of beef and vegetable stew, his favorite, from the living room, and his mouth began to water.

He rushed into the kitchen, remembered that his still-enfeebled younger brother was still trying to get up from his chair in the living room, and rushed back to help him. Ed wasn't _that_ selfish.

The pair sat ready and waiting at the kitchen table. Ed had his soup spoon positioned for his stew before it was served.

Winry got the bowls out of cabinets and ladled Alphonse the first serving. He didn't wait for the others to be served and dug straight in to the hot and delicious meal. Next she served Pinako, and then herself.

And then she sat down and began to eat, with Ed still waiting, spoon still in hand.

"Winry," he said as patiently as he could when stew was on the line, "you forgot someone."

"No I didn't," she said.

"I'm starving over here!" Ed yelped. "What's your deal?"

"I just thought a day without dinner would teach you not to threaten to cut little boys' hands off," she said curtly.

"I thought you didn't know about that!" Ed yelped at the same time Al gasped, "You did _what,_ brother?"

But Winry didn't answer him. Instead, she made a show of blowing the steam off of her spoonful of stew and subsequently devouring it. "Mm," she said. "This stew is delicious. Maybe the best batch I've ever made."

Ed pawed at her bowl, but she swiped it out of his reach and continued to slowly savor every bite. Eventually, Ed couldn't take it any more and stormed out of the kitchen. When he went to bed that night, all he could think about was the stew. The plump beef tips and the perfectly red bell peppers.

"Brother?" he heard Al say through the darkness. "Could you maybe go sleep on the couch tonight? The sounds your stomach is making are keeping me awake."

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_A/N: So I may have failed miserably to keep my deadline, but here is the next chapter. Now that it is summertime, I **also **have too much free time so I will be updating more. Also, in a shameless bout of self-promotion, check out my Royai fic _Pasts Uncovered _and drop a review if you care. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!_

_Elizabeth_


	4. Do Not Disturb

**4. Do Not Disturb**

"Haven't we been over this, Ed?" Winry sighed in exasperation. "If you keep _insisting _on bothering me while I'm working, I'll have to send you on another errand. And we both know how that turned out for you last time."

Although she was clearly annoyed, the tone in her voice was joking. Winry had long since forgiven Ed for his blunder in the marketplace, but reminding him of the embarrassment he'd faced had proved to be an effective disciplining tool.

"But _Winry,_" Ed whined in reply. "It's not _my _fault that this town is so damn boring!"

Winry put one hand on her hip and twirled her wrench in the other to let Ed know that she meant business. "Have some respect for the place you were born and raised, Ed," she said. "And for heaven's sake, leave me alone!"

Ed hung his head, a sign of reluctant submission. Winry quickly got back to work – she had to ship some replacement parts to a client in Rush Valley by the end of the week – but she couldn't help but notice that Ed was still milling around the door.

She gave another sigh. "Fine," she said in a defeated tone.

Ed's ears perked up, like he was some sort of dog.

"You can hang out in here if you _really _want to," she conceded, though not without the addendum, "but you _have _to be quiet!"

Ed quickly cleared a space on a patient's cot and sat obediently.

Winry tried, again, to get back to work. She tried to concentrate on each finger of the hand she was working on – not on the boy (no, not boy – the word boy didn't quite describe Ed anymore) who was sitting behind her. If she just worked on one finger at a time, she could get through this abysmal afternoon.

But then a jingling trotted into the room.

"Hey, Den," Ed said in the king of voice that is reserved only for dogs and babies. "Whatcha been up to? Wanna play fetch?"

Winry heard a clanking noise as Ed threw one of her tools (she did not know which one) across the room. She was still determined to concentrate on her project. She was working on the middle finger now – how appropriate.

She tried to ignore it, she really did. But the clanking and the yipping and Ed's restrained laughter as the dog tried and failed to catch whatever tool he was throwing in the air were all just too much for Winry, and finally, she reached her breaking point.

"Ed," she snapped, turning around. "Do you remember what I said you had to do to if you wanted to stay in here and watch me work?"

Ed looked at her with wide, innocent eyes. "Be quiet?" he said, as if he was unsure.

"Exactly!" Winry said. "Now, come here, Den."

The old dog bounded to Winry immediately and sat patiently by her side, immediately putting a stop to all of Ed's fun.

The action had the intended effect – it was quiet once again in the workroom. But Winry was still having a hard time concentrating. In the silence, she could almost feel Ed's eyes on her, boring into her back.

Ed knew she couldn't see him staring at her, being hunched over her work and all, but still, he felt a little embarrassed. It wasn't exactly the staring he felt embarrassed about. No, it was definitely the thoughts that went along with the staring.

Winry, in that tiny little top working intently in this tiny little room. She was just so _cute_, he thought as his face reddened. And the summer heat didn't help. Edward could see little droplets of sweat forming at her hairline as she worked so intently, and he found himself sweating too, though it was his palms that were producing the moisture.

He almost just wanted to sneak up behind her, grab her around the middle and smother her with -

But there was no way. She had the wrench right there in her hand and ready to thwack him upside the head. And she was looking for an excuse to hit him already. Maybe letting Den play fetch with her hydro spanner had been a little bit too much. He wouldn't push his luck next time.

Winry turned around to look at him, and immediately Ed averted his eyes. He hoped she hadn't caught him staring.

Her face was flushed. "This isn't working," she said, gritting her teeth. "You need to leave, you're too much of a distraction."

Ed could tell by her tone that this was no time to argue and left the room without protest. In reality, he was almost gleeful, for Winry admitted more than she probably intended. S_he_ found him a distraction as well. He could work with that.

* * *

_A/N: Thank you to Reflected Grace, FullmetalFan16, and FMAddict524 for leaving reviews and to everyone else who put this story on their fave/alert lists. As always, any and all feedback (via reviews) is appreciated muchly. Also, props for updating in a decent amount of time? I think so. _


	5. Pen and Paper

**5. Pen and Paper**

Ed gave a frustrated sigh as he sat at the desk in his and Al's tiny bedroom, staring at the blank page. He just felt so _silly_. Every time he started to write something down, it just didn't seem good enough.

When his mother was alive, he often saw her writing in her journal. In fact, she was _always _writing in her journal, provided she wasn't cooking or cleaning or taking care of him and Al. He'd asked her about it once.

"_What are you writing, Mom?" _

"_I like to write down my feelings sometimes, that's all," Trisha had replied with a smile._

"_That's stupid," young Edward had replied._

"_And why is that, Ed?"_

"_Because it's not like it changes what your feeling or anything that's going on. The only way anything changes is if you _do _something about it," Ed said matter-of-factly. _

"_I suppose that's true," Trisha laughed, giving her son an affectionate pat on the head. "But I still like to write things down. It may not change anything, but it does help me get my feelings in order, which helps me make decisions when I _do _decide to do something," she explained._

_Ed chewed on his lip, "I guess that makes sense."_

"_I think so. You should try it sometime," Trisha smiled. _

So now he _was _giving it a try. When he thought about Winry, his brain got all muddled and he didn't know what it all meant. Watching her work earlier, the way she hunched her back over her work and then stretched her arms out wide when she got restless…. That made Ed feel, well, he didn't really know how it made him feel. But he knew it made him feel _good, _but nervous at the same time. Maybe writing stuff down would help him figure it out, like his mom had said all those years ago.

"_Dear Diary," _he began. No, no. That was _way _to girly. He may not be able to do alchemy anymore, but Edward wasn't _totally _emasculated. He scratched it out and decided to begin again.

Before he could get anything down on to the page however, he was interrupted.

"Hey brother, what're you doing in here?" Al said, popping his head in the door.

Ed crumpled the sheet of paper he was using in his hand and said, "Nothing," a little bit too quickly.

Alphonse was up and about more often these days, which most of the time Ed thought was a good thing. It meant that his health was improving. But now, while his face was all red and he was struggling to think of an excuse, Ed remembered how easy Al had been to _avoid _a few weeks ago.

"N-nothing Al, I'm just thinking about… s-stuff, is all," Ed stammered out. He didn't really know why he felt so embarrassed about this, he just knew that he _did. _

"Okay," Al grinned. "Well Granny says that dinner will be ready in about an hour, you know, when you're done 'thinking about stuff' and want something to eat."

"Got it," Ed said. He was short of shooing Al out of the door, but luckily Al left on his own. Then, he turned back to his paper. He had to smooth it all out from when he'd smashed it, and then grabbed his pen once more.

Edward was going to write _something_. If his mom had been convinced that it was helpful, then it must not be totally useless. He might as well dive right into it.

"_So, Winry…" _Ed began. Maybe if he wrote stuff he already knew that he felt about her, it would be easier to figure out what he didn't know. _"She's my friend. My _best _friend, next to Alphonse. But Al doesn't really count, since he's my brother and all. So best friends. And I'm _her _best friend, right? But she does hang around with that girl Nellie all the time… and I bet she tells Nellie stuff she'd _never _tell me. So maybe I'm not her best friend." _

Ed stopped. His mother was right. Writing stuff down _did _help him figure out how he felt. And what of he felt was jealous. Jealous of _Nellie, _of all people. Maybe writing his feelings down was making him crazy, he thought. He'd give it another shot though.

As he was about to continue writing, he heard the door creak open again. "What do you want, Al?" Ed said, trying not to sound annoyed at his little brother.

"It's me," Winry said with a giggle.

Ed turned around, a deep-red flush creeping up his face. "Oh, uh," Ed stuttered. "I thought you were still working on that arm." He crushed the piece of paper once more, and heard it tearing beneath his fingers. He wouldn't be able to smooth it out again.

"I just finished. I'd thought I'd come see if you wanted to go to the market with me. We're out of milk," Winry smiled. God, Ed thought, that smile would be the death of him.

"No way," Ed recovered, the blush fading from his face. "Why would I willingly help you bring _milk _into the house?"

"That's what I thought you'd say," Winry said, scrunching her nose. "I guess I'll see you at dinner then." She left, shutting the door behind her.

Ed turned back to his desk, setting his forehead against the smooth wood. He was too on edge. Maybe writing _wasn't _for him.

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_A/N: Hey all! Thanks for reading. Be sure to drop a review, and I'll be sure to have the next chapter up by Friday. Thank you to SinintheEyes, DeathBySugarCube, Nejiforever, Harryswoman, FMAddict524, and Gisel0202 for reviewing the last chapter. Every one of them means a ton! The next chapter is adorable and Al-centric. Reviews may motivate me to post it early ;)_

_Elizabeth  
_


	6. Magic

**6. Magic**

"Come on, Ed," Al whined. "It's just walking to the market. It's not that big of a deal. It's not even that far. And _someone _needs to go. It might as well be me."

"You're still recovering!" Ed retorted.

"It seems like I've been recovering for _months_," Al replied. "I'm sick of sitting around the house doing nothing, and Granny said she needed someone to go to the market. Don't you think you're being just a _little _overprotective, Ed?"

"No," Ed said stoutly.

"Well I do," Winry chimed in. "You're being silly, Edward. It's really not a long way – Al's perfectly capable of walking there."

"See," Al said pointedly. "Winry agrees with me."

"I just don't want you to wear yourself out, Al," Edward said. He knew that Al could manage himself just fine, but now that he'd started an argument, he couldn't back down. He would look weak.

"Don't be stubborn, Ed," Winry said. It was like she could read his mind. "Why don't we all go. Would that make you feel better?" Then she slipped her hand into his, and he nodded.

Winry was _holding his_ _hand_. Okay, so she was holding Al's hand too, but it was still enough to make him blush. Ed had been doing that a lot lately. He really needed to stop.

As to be expected on a late Tuesday afternoon, the market was hustling and bustling with people. The trio was armed with a short list from Pinako. Most of the items were food for the night's dinner, and Winry parted ways with the boys to look at a vender's fresh fruits and veggies.

"Aw, man, Dad's gonna kill us," a boy said loudly.

Both of the Elric brothers turned around to look at who was speaking. The voice had been loud and distressed, and because of their years of travelling, both of the boys had developed a penchant for helping those in need.

Ed groaned when he saw who had spoken. It was one of the boys he had threatened to cut the hands off of a while back. The boy was steering a wheelbarrow that contained his brother, and the wheel had fallen off its axis. The boys had clearly been horsing around and broke the wheelbarrow by mistake. Edward quickly lost interest and turned away.

"Ed," Al said. "Ed they need some help. Why don't you go help them?"

"Trust me, Al, they don't want my help," Ed snorted.

Al rolled his eyes and walked over to the boys himself. "Do you need some help fixing that?" he asked them.

"Al!" Ed called after him. "Al, come back here! You have to listen to me, I'm your older brother!" His shouts went unheeded though, and he didn't dare approach the boys. He didn't want to unnecessarily bring up the past events.

"Don't worry about him," Al said to the boys. "He's just grumpy. Do you need some help fixing your wheelbarrow?"

"I don't think it can be fixed," the younger boy said. "The wheel's broken off completely. Oh man, Dad's going to be so upset!"

"Don't worry," Al said. "I can fix it."

"Really?" said the younger boy happily. The older one looked at Al dubiously.

"Seriously, I can," said Al. He grinned back at Edward, who was still watching (and scowling) from a safe distance. Then, he clapped his hands together and placed them on the wheelbarrow. With a bright blue flash of alchemic power, the wheelbarrow was as good as new.

"Woah," the younger brother awed. The older brother, in the way teenagers tend to do, tried not to react at all, but a glint in his eyes said he was impressed. "Where'd you learn how to do magic?" the younger brother asked.

Al laughed. "It's not magic," he replied. "It's alchemy. It's _science_."

"Well, whatever it is, thanks," the older brother said, speaking to Al for the first time. "You're a whole lot nicer than your little brother."

Panicked, Al looked over to Ed, but he hadn't seemed to hear the "little brother" comment. In fact, Ed wasn't even paying attention to them any more. He seemed lost in thought.

Ed remained quiet for the entire walk home.

"Is something wrong, Ed?" Al asked, concerned.

"Huh? No, I'm fine," he replied, and then he resumed staring off into space.

Al was worried. _'I was insensitive,' _he thought, biting his lip. _'Showing off my alchemy to those boys when Ed can't do it anymore. I bet I made him feel bad. I am the _worst _brother in the world. I wonder what horrible things he's thinking about me right now.'_

If Al _could _know Ed's thoughts, he would be hearing, _'I wonder what Winry's fixing us for dinner. I'm starving!'_

* * *

_A/N: This one's a little shorter, but it's about Al! And I love Al! Super thanks to DeathBySugarCube, FMAddict524, Nejiforever, animeluvx3, ReflectedGrace, Harryswoman, and Gisel0202 for reviewing and to everyone else who put this story on their fav/alert list. If you please, press that review button and you'll get a quick update! I'll be out of town this weekend, so I'm aiming for a Tuesday update. Thanks for reading!  
_

_Elizabeth  
_


	7. Breaking the Rules

**7. Breaking the Rules**

"Ed, you're such a spoilsport," Al whined.

"No, I'm not," Ed replied resolutely.

"Al's right," Winry sighed. "Trying something new every once in a while is not going to kill you. _I_ think you might just be scared of the dark and you're too embarrassed to tell anybody."

"Yep," Al goaded. "Just a little scaredy-cat. That's my brother."

"It's not that I'm _afraid_ of the dark," Ed said with a pout on his face. "You never know what's going to happen though. The theater's probably got a house pickpocket that nabs everyone's wallets while they can't see."

"You're paranoid, Edward." Winry rolled her eyes. "If your wallet gets stolen, I will personally pay you all of the money you lost. I don't think that going to the movie theater is the traumatic experience you're making it out to be."

Resembool had just gotten its very first movie theater. For a small fee, you could go and watch the motion pictures all day. Winry had never been to one, and she thought it would be a fun way to get the boys out of the house. However, she'd forgotten how stubborn Ed could be about trying out new things.

With some more coaxing, Alphonse and Winry were able to get Ed into town. When they got to the theater, he even acted the gentleman and paid for the three of them.

Not without complaint, of course. "What a rip-off," he muttered after giving the teller the money. "This better be pretty freaking awesome."

"I'm sure it will be," Winry said, rubbing his shoulder, which made him relax a little.

She'd been doing that a lot lately. Not _excessively_, just a nudge here and lingering touch there. Ed didn't know what to make of it. It made him feel good, in a weird, stomach-twisting way, so he never questioned her motives. It was just _different_.

"Woah," Al said as they entered the theater. It was a weekend, so most of the seats were filled to the brim. They had entered in the middle of a serial – the main feature was supposed to start in ten minutes – but neither Edward nor Alphonse cared about the storyline. Both of them were transfixed by the images, the differences almost imperceptible from real life. There was no sound, but in the corner a man sat and played the clavier to convey the mood.

"How do you think it works," Al asked Ed breathlessly. The sight was an absolute marvel.

"It's _got_ to be some sort of alchemy," Ed insisted.

The two began to whisper about the theoretical workings of the moving picture, but when the feature started Winry shushed the both of them.

In the middle of the film, Ed stood up and said, "I'm going to see how this thing works."

"No," Winry said. "Sit down and don't cause a fuss." She hated acting like his mother, but sometimes Ed acted so ridiculous she couldn't help herself.

Al looked up at Ed and then nervously back at Winry, before quietly saying, "Wait for me, brother. I want to see too!" The two at least had the decency to tiptoe out of the theater so they wouldn't disturb the other moviegoers any further.

Winry tried to enjoy the film without them – she really did – but knowing that the boys were probably out there made her nervous. After three minutes of rapid foot tapping and glances backwards to see if they had returned, she left the hall to find them.

The lobby was ridiculously bright in comparison to the dim theater, and Winry squinted around to find Ed and Al. She didn't see them, but she did see a worried attendant running to find his superior, and she headed to the door where he had come from, figuring that Ed and Al's talent for mayhem had caused the attendant's worry. The door led to a winding set of stairs, and at the top was a door that had been carelessly flung open. As she had predicted, Edward and Alphonse were there, huddled over something.

"So it's _not _alchemy. It's mechanical," she heard Ed say.

"I'm sure you're not supposed to be up here," Winry said from the doorway, startling both boys. As they stepped away, Winry caught a glimpse of what they were looking at. Whatever it was, with all of its whizzing gears, it was beautiful. "Let me take a look at that." She was just as bad as Ed and Al. "This is amazing," she murmured. She just wanted to get her screwdriver and take the whole machine apart.

"I wonder what would happed if you…" Al began, sticking his pointer finger dangerously close to the machine's innards.

That's when the theater's manager came hurtling up the stairs and into the room, causing Al to jump. That's all it took to disturb the fragile machine. A gasp from down in the theater and the rapidly twisting mess of film indicated the show would probably not go on.

"What. are. you. doing," the manager steamed.

"I'm sorry!" Al squeaked out. "We were just…"

"No time," Ed said. "Let's get out of here."

The three bolted out of the tiny projection room, squeezing past the manager on the staircase, and into the outdoors.

The manager followed them yelling, "Never let me see your faces here again!"

When they were a fair distance away, Ed slowed down and said smugly, "I _told _you coming here would be a bad idea."

* * *

_A/N: Hey darlings! I'm back from hiatus. I know it's been a while, but I have a solid plan for this and I'm going to start updating again I promise :) I'm pretty proud of this chapter. In the FMA space-time continuum or whatever, they seem to be around the advent of film, so in honor of all of the awesome movie-movies I've seen lately (Hugo, The Artist), I decided to do a chapter on the movies. _

_I would love it if you dropped me a review. It takes 30 seconds and motivates me to keep writing. I'm giving myself a deadline of three days for the next post, so feel free to kick my butt if I don't meet it. _

_Elizabeth_


	8. Smile

**8. Smile**

Winry was half furious and half exhilarated. Being the object of pursuit was something that Edward and Alphonse were probably used to with all of the messes that they'd caused in their lives, but Winry normally attempted to live as an upright citizen. She had a business reputation to uphold, after all.

"I can't believe," she wheezed when they had slowed down to a stroll outside of town, "that you got us kicked out of a shop."

"Oh please," Ed said with a laugh. "I mean, yeah, we started it, but you were just as interested in that contraption as me and Al when you got up there."

Winry began to protest, but she didn't really have a leg to stand on. "Maybe you're right." She tried to say the phrase begrudgingly, but her face couldn't help but split into a grin. It had been a long time since any of the three had been able to be so carefree.

Soon, Al began to fall behind. His body had gotten a lot stronger since the Promised Day, but he still had a long way to go. Their sprint from town surely had exhausted him. "I think I need to sit down for a while," he said, setting himself down on the stone wall lining the road.

"That's okay, Al. We don't mind waiting for you," Winry said, moving to sit down next to him.

Much to her surprise, Al's hand shot out and pushed her back up. "Don't worry," he insisted. "I'll meet you back at the house. You two can go on without me."

"Come on, Alphonse," Edward replied dismissively. "We're not going to leave you here on the side of the road all by yourself."

"Ed, it's not like I'm dying," Al said, his voice still a little bit raspy from exhaustion. "I'll be fine. Just cut me a piece of that apple pie Winry made yesterday so it'll be all ready when I get there and we'll call it even."

After a few more moments of bickering, Al finally won out.

"I can't believe how stubborn he is," Ed scowled as he and Winry walked away.

Winry issued an extremely unladylike snort. "Like you're one to talk, Ed."

"I am _not _stubborn," Ed said firmly.

While Edward was studying the road ahead intently, Winry examined each line of his face. It was amazing that what has all smiles just a few minutes ago was now toughened and frowning. Ed could get that way when he was worried, especially when it came to his little brother, and to Winry, that wasn't a bad thing at all. It's just that Ed tended to take everything to extremes.

"Come on, grumpy," she said with a smile. In a moment of spontaneity, she slipped her hand into his. "Don't worry about Al, he'll be fine. You _know_ that he can take care of himself. But I bet he'd appreciate it if we got home and started on some dinner for him."

"Yeah, whatever," Ed said, but Winry could tell his heart wasn't totally committed to the "grumpy" act. His features softened and a twitch of a smile once again started at the corners of his mouth. Winry's heart fluttered when he tightened his grasp on her hand.

"Now, what should we make for dinner?" Winry asked.

"Beef stew," Ed said immediately.

"I knew you were going to say that," Winry said with a laugh. "But I think the milk has gone bad. Besides, that's _your_ favorite. What do you think Al wants to eat?"

Edward furrowed his brow, clearly thinking very hard about the question. Winry giggled – she couldn't help it; he was adorable.

"This isn't some complicated alchemy problem," she prompted after Ed failed to give her a quick answer. "What does Al like to eat?"

"But it _is_ complicated," Ed insisted. "Al likes to eat _everything_. It's difficult to choose just one meal."

"I suppose you're right." Since getting his body back, Al had pretty much been hoovering up every piece of food in sight. "Well, since he's happy with pretty much everything, I'll make the roast we've had in the ice box. And /you/ can help. He'll appreciate that, since you had to pick a fight with him."

The blissful look that had been on Edward's face promptly disappeared. "What?" he said. "Cook dinner? I can't do that. That's your job!"

"And why is that?" Winry asked hotly, increasing the strength of her grip so that Edward's hand had trouble circulating blood. "Is it because I'm the woman and you're the man? You need to get those ancient stereotypes out of your head. I might not cook _anything_ for you anymore."

"No," Ed nearly yelped. Then he tried to backtrack. "It's just that, well, you're good at cooking, and I'm not. That's not based on a stereotype, that's just the plain old truth. I mean, come on, you've tasted my attempts at cooking."

The two squabbled the rest of the way to the Rockbell house, and Winry ended up making dinner all the same. As Winry watched Edward scarf down his meal that evening, she decided that even though seeing him smile was nice, there was nothing like a good argument between friends to work up an appetite.

* * *

_A/N: I was a day late! Sorry! I just wanted to say that I am extremely flattered at the number of you who put this story on your fave/alert list! Thanks so much. I'd LOVE LOVE LOVE if that number was the same for reviews *hint hint* I'm back at school, so the next chapter will be up at the end of this week. _

_Elizabeth_

_Second A/N: Sorry if you got a billion alerts for this. is being weird/glitchy about posting right now so I took the chapter down until everything got fixed._


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